Microsoft has recently rebranded its Bing chatbot to “Copilot,” which is both a standalone conversational AI service and an integrated service tied with the larger suite of Microsoft 365 Copilot. The latter combines the tech titan’s numerous productivity applications. Copilot Chat is based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model and allows any user with a Microsoft account to communicate with it. The rebranding of Bing Chat is a crucial step in the company’s enhanced cooperation with OpenAI, as the duo competes fiercely with major rivals like Google to remain dominant in the artificial intelligence sphere. In addition, Copilot also strongly adheres to Microsoft’s responsible AI commitment by ensuring AI safety, privacy, and security for all of its users.
While the moniker Bing Chat was aimed at tapping into the AI search engine market, the new Copilot branding might be more suited to help Microsoft compete better in the chatbot space, possibly even with its partner firm’s offering—ChatGPT. With its own interface as opposed to Bing’s search-engine-integrated platform, Copilot allows users more options and a holistic experience when it comes to AI interactions in the new domain. The chatbot remains connected to the internet and continues to carry out the same tasks that Bing Chat did but with more features to increase utility.
Decoding Microsoft Copilot’s Launch and Salient Attributes
Microsoft Copilot can be accessed by both free users and subscribers to Microsoft 365.
After being announced in early 2023, Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot was made generally available in the first week of December 2023. Both AI enthusiasts and business clients can now access Copilot after exiting the preview to access pertinent information with relevant sources cited in its responses. Copilot has been made available on numerous platforms to enhance accessibility, with the chatbot available on the web, through the Bing app on Android and iOS and on Windows 11, among others. Copilot is also integrated with productivity applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Despite Copilot replacing Bing Chat as Microsoft’s primary chatbot, Bing still remains active for users who prefer a search engine-centric chatbot experience.
The integration of Bing with Microsoft’s initial AI search engine push was aimed at grabbing greater market share compared to Google, a firm that holds over 90% of the search engine traffic presently. However, despite impressive results from Bing, there has been little change in the statistics. Moreover, Google has been patient with its own AI search feature—Search Generative Experience—and has been taking it through numerous iterations of trials, testing, and upgrades before formally integrating it with its search platform. However, the focus shift to Copilot indicates that Microsoft is now exploring other options and is intent on also competing in the chatbot space as rival offerings like Gemini and Claude 3 continue to make gains in the hotly contested tech domain. Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot remains free on the web and through other applications; however, it comes bundled with a subscription to Microsoft 365 for users deploying the chatbot for productivity and commercial aspirations.
How Is Microsoft’s Copilot Chatbot Different from Bing Chat?
Copilot Chat promises better speed and performance metrics.
Microsoft Copilot AI brings to the table numerous features that set it apart from its predecessor. While the underlying language model remains the same, Copilot integrates intuitive features such as the ability to create AI-generated music. Copilot achieves this by integrating with a generative AI-based music application called Suno. Interestingly, Microsoft’s arch-rival, Google, has also undertaken explorations in the same niche and has entered negotiations with Universal Music Group to license artists’ voices for the production of synthetically generated harmonies. Copilot Chat has also been integrated with Dall-E 3 to provide better generative AI capabilities within the interface and offer an in-house AI image generator for potential users. Since ChatGPT’s latest edition has already integrated OpenAI’s most advanced AI image generator, Microsoft, too, stands to benefit from the same protocol.
As for professionals and users who use the chatbot from within their productivity applications, Copilot can help summarize emails and presentations and function within core documents. Additionally, it also helps write emails and provokes creative conception by offering ideas related to the discussions at hand. It can also insert graphics and images into text-based documents by inserting AI-generated content. It can also pull out specific points of interest from documents, chat-based conversations, and emails to aid in better knowledge sharing and information retention. Users can make use of simple prompts to elicit responses, given that the model is based on natural language processing protocols and exhibits seamless understanding across all productivity applications hosted on Microsoft 365.
Initial Reception and Prospects for Microsoft Copilot AI
Copilot allows Microsoft to also compete with its partner firm’s AI chatbot, ChatGPT, more effectively.
Microsoft’s Copilot service and the chatbot have received mostly positive reviews, with most users opining that the AI tools and the chatbot have positively impacted their professional workflows. However, like most generative AI tools, Copilot Chat, too, has been prone to AI hallucinations and ended up providing false information surrounding elections in the United States and Europe. This suggests that despite being a robust AI model, Copilot isn’t entirely foolproof, and users will have to exercise discretion in considering its responses. Regardless, most generative AI remains a work in progress and will improve as humans understand the challenges of present AI technologies better.
FAQs
1. What language model does Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot use?
Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot relies on OpenAI’s popular GPT-4 chatbot. The new framework is essentially a rebranding of Bing Chat.
2. Is the Copilot chatbot free?
While Copilot is available in its free version to interested users, professionals and others looking to access the full features of the new AI assistant will need to subscribe to Microsoft 365, which is priced at $30 per month per user.
3. Is Microsoft Copilot safe?
Microsoft Copilot Chat ensures user safety and privacy by not utilizing their data or information for training purposes. Moreover, it also boasts better AI security features compared to its predecessor.